Edward Fudge

Fudge was raised by devout parents. His mother was the child of missionaries to southern Africa, and his father was a Christian publisher and a minister in Churches of Christ.{{cite web|url=http://www.edwardfudge.com/personal.html|title=The Personal Pages|publisher=Edward Fudge Ministries|accessdate=December 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222200439/http://www.edwardfudge.com/personal.html|archive-date=February 22, 2012|url-status=dead}} He received bachelor's and master's degrees at Abilene Christian University and completed law school at the University of Houston College of Law.{{cite web|title=The Personal Pages: my professional life|url=http://www.edwardfudge.com/professional.html|publisher=Edward Fudge Ministries|accessdate=December 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111140426/http://www.edwardfudge.com/professional.html|archive-date=November 11, 2011|url-status=dead}} Fudge was raised in non-institutional Churches of Christ, attending Florida College before transferring to Abilene Christian. After completing his master's in Biblical languages from Abilene, Fudge ministered for non-institutional Churches of Christ in St. Louis and Athens, Alabama.{{cite web|url=http://www.wineskins.org/filter.asp?SID=2&co_key=1420|title=A Conversation With Edward Fudge|publisher=New Wineskins|accessdate=December 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524175214/http://www.wineskins.org/filter.asp?SID=2&co_key=1420|archive-date=May 24, 2012|url-status=dead}} Fudge then moved to Houston, Texas, where he lived until his death on November 25, 2017.{{cite news|author=Eric Tryggestad|work=The Christian Chronicle|url=https://christianchronicle.org/edward-fudge-controversial-scholar-topic-hell-dies-73/|title=Edward Fudge, controversial scholar on topic of hell, dies at 73|date=November 29, 2017|accessdate=November 30, 2017}}

Although Fudge published several books, only The Fire That Consumes has been published in multiple editions. The first printing of the first edition, subtitled A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment, was published in early 1982 ({{ISBN|0-89890-018-2}}) by Verdict Publications (Australia), with a foreword by F. F. Bruce of Manchester, England.

The book examined the doctrine of the final punishment of the unredeemed from throughout the whole Bible, non-biblical literature of Second Temple Judaism (Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls), as well as the historical development of the doctrine of final punishment through the Apostolic Fathers; Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Fathers; medieval and later theologians; and Reformers and later theologians. Special attention is given to Augustine ("City of God") and to John Calvin ("Psychopannychia"). Fudge argues that the doctrine of hell as eternal, conscious torment was not a necessary corollary of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, brought into the Christian church by apologists such as Athenagoras and especially Tertullian.

When the first printing sold out in five months, Verdict gave all rights to the author, who for 29 years self-published the book through multiple printings under the name Providential Press. The only change in the second printing was enlarging the subtitle to say "A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment." The second printing was an Alternate Selection of the Evangelical Book Club.

Twelve years later in 1994, a condensed second edition ({{ISBN|0-85364-587-6}}), subtitled The Biblical Case for Conditional Immortality and including a new foreword by John W. Wenham of Oxford, was published by Paternoster Press in England. Paternoster was later bought by Authentic Media, which let the second edition go out of print.

Seventeen years later, Fudge revised and updated the first edition to produce a definitive third edition which was published by Cascade Books, the academic division of Wipf & Stock ({{ISBN|1-60899-930-0}}). This edition was again subtitled A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, and included a new foreword by Richard Bauckham of Cambridge University. Throughout the third edition, Fudge interacts with seventeen authors of eleven traditionalist books, advancing the dialogue by three decades.

Christianity Today has called The Fire That Consumes "the standard reference on the subject." Since its first publication, The Fire That Consumes has been cited with increasing frequency by scholars and other serious authors writing on the topic. Among these are articles in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society,{{cite journal |last=Crockett |first=William V. |date=June 1991 |title=Wrath That Endures Forever |url=http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/34/34-2/34-2-pp195-202_JETS.pdf |journal=Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=195–202 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202015941/http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/34/34-2/34-2-pp195-202_JETS.pdf |archive-date=2011-12-02 |accessdate=December 23, 2011}} Evangelical Quarterly,{{cite journal|last=Bowles|first=Ralph G.|title=Does Revelation 14:11 Teach Eternal Torment? Examining a Proof-text on Hell|journal=Evangelical Quarterly|volume=73|issue=1|year=2001|pages=21–36|doi=10.1163/27725472-07301004 |s2cid=252293448 |url=http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/2001-1_021.pdf}} Christian Research Institute Journal,{{cite journal|title=Evangelicals and the Annihilation of Hell (Part One)|last=Gomes|first=Alan W.|date=Spring 1991|page=14ff|accessdate=December 23, 2011|url=http://www.willofthelord.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Annihilation-Hell-Alan-W-Gomes.pdf|journal=Christian Research Institute Journal}}{{cite journal|title=Evangelicals and the Annihilation of Hell (Part Two)|last=Gomes|first=Alan W.|date=Summer 1991|page=8ff|accessdate=December 23, 2011|url=http://www.willofthelord.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Annihilation-Hell-Alan-W-Gomes.pdf|journal=Christian Research Institute Journal}} Reformation & Revival,{{cite journal|last=Packer|first=James I.|author-link=J. I. Packer|title=Evangelical Annihilationism in Review|volume=6|issue=2|pages=37–52|date=Spring 1997|accessdate=December 23, 2011|url=http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ref-rev/06-2/6-2_packer.pdf|journal=Reformation & Revival}} and Themelios.{{cite journal|journal=Themelios|last=Gray|first=Tony|title=Destroyed For Ever: An Examination of the Debates Concerning Annihilation and Conditional Immortality|date=January 1996|accessdate=December 23, 2011|volume=21|issue=2|url=http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/article_destroyed_gray.html|pages=14–18}} Christianity Today picked it as one of four volumes representing the "annihilationist" viewpoint on Hell in a 2000 topical bibliography.{{Cite journal|title=Rightly Dividing the Hell Debate: Key Advocates and Writings|journal=Christianity Today|date=October 23, 2000|accessdate=December 24, 2011|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/october23/2.32.html|volume=44|issue=12}}

Fudge's other works on Hell include Two Views of Hell: A Biblical & Theological Dialogue,{{cite book |last1=Fudge |first1=Edward William |url=http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=2255 |title=Two Views of Hell: A Biblical & Theological Dialogue |last2=Peterson |first2=Robert A. |publisher=InterVarsity Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8308-2255-3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130052157/http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=2255 |archive-date=2007-11-30 |accessdate=December 25, 2011}} coauthored by traditionalist Robert A. Peterson, and Hell: A Final Word (The Surprising Truths I Found in the Bible) ({{ISBN|978-089112-149-7}}), a more accessible work for popular audiences.

{{main|Hell and Mr. Fudge}}

Fudge is the subject of the biopic Hell and Mr. Fudge, produced by Pat Arrabito, directed by Jeff Wood, and starring Mackenzie Astin as Fudge. The film was released at the 2012 Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival. Fudge cooperated in the film's development.{{cite web|title=2011 speaking/travel schedule|publisher=Edward Fudge Ministries|url=http://www.edwardfudge.com/speaking_appts11.html|accessdate=December 23, 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930080841/http://www.edwardfudge.com/speaking_appts11.html|archivedate=September 30, 2011}}

• A.A. Florida College (1965)
• B.A. Abilene Christian University (1967)
• M.A. Abilene Christian University (1968)
• J.D. University of Houston College of Law (1988)

• Resurrection!: Essays in Honor of Homer Hailey, Athens, Alabama: C.E.I. Publishing Company, 1973. {{ISBN|978-0-88407-003-0}}.
• Our Man in Heaven: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1974.
• The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, Providential Press, 1982. {{ISBN|978-0-89890-018-7}}.
• The Sound of His Voice: Discovering the Secrets of God's Guidance, Abilene, Texas: Leafwood Publishers, 2002. {{ISBN|978-0-97142-894-2}}.
• The Great Rescue: The Story of God's Amazing Grace, Abilene, Texas: Leafwood Publishers, 2002. {{ISBN|0-9714289-3-X}}.
• GracEmail: Daily Answers for Life's Big Questions, Abilene, Texas: Hillcrest Publishing, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-89112-489-4}}.
• Hebrews: Ancient Encouragement for Believers Today, Abilene, Texas: Leafwood Publishers, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-89112-625-6}}.
• Two Views of Hell: A Biblical & Theological Dialogue (Spectrum), with Peterson, Robert A., Downer's Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2010. {{ISBN|0-83082-255-0}}.
• The Divine Rescue: The Gripping Drama of a Lost World and of the Creator Who Will Not Let It Go., Abilene, Texas: Leafwood Publishers, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-89112-645-4}}.
• Hell: A Final Word, Abilene, Texas: Leafwood Publishers, 2012. {{ISBN|978-0-89112-149-7}}.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.edwardfudge.com/ Personal website]
• [https://wipfandstock.com/9781608999309/the-fire-that-consumes/ Wipf and Stock] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009114701/https://wipfandstock.com/store/The_Fire_That_Consumes_A_Biblical_and_Historical_Study_of_the_Doctrine_of_Final_Punishment_Third_Edition |date=2011-10-09 }}, publishers of The Fire That Consumes
• {{IMDb title|qid=Q5706746|title=Hell and Mr. Fudge}}

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Category:1944 births

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Category:20th-century American lawyers

Category:People from Limestone County, Alabama